What a request!
Through Jeremiah the prophet, God asked the captive Jews to pray for the welfare of the state of Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
To many exiled Jews, it must have sounded incredible. "Pray for the evil people who enslaved us?"
But that's exactly what God wanted.
And Erwin Lutzer, author of The Church in Babylon, says that we should heed the same call in our own world where Christ and the church are either under attack or simply thrown aside.
Lutzer points out that Jeremiah's letter to the Jews in Babylon explicitly says that God "sent" them to Babylon for his own purposes. They were certainly being punished for their rejection of God - but God had plans for their good in the long term.
In the meantime, they were to settle down in Babylon, build homes, have families, work for the welfare and peace of the city - and pray for the Babylonians.
Lutzer says God is "sending" us into our society to work for the peace and prosperity of our cities and nations - and to pray for them.
I rejoice that many in North America are doing exactly that - praying for our cities and nations. I sense that this prayer movement is growing.
In my own city, a group of Christians has founded a lay organization called "Love Ottawa" which has for several years worked to serve the needs of the city in various ways - including through regular annual prayer weeks.
Canada's National House of Prayer is based on our city. It's purpose is to mobilize prayer for our government.
Lutzer, long-time senior pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, cites similar prayer efforts in his own city of Chicago.
But he pleads for more prayer.
"Despite our great needs here in America, few evangelical churches have a regularly scheduled prayer meeting," he writes. "When I asked a megachurch pastor if they had a regular prayer meeting and he replied, no, I asked a follow-up question: 'How bad would it have to get before you scheduled a regular prayer meeting?' He did not give me a clear answer."
Prayer matters to God. He works with us as we pray.
Several Bible passages make that clear, such as 2 Timothy l:1-2, 2 Chronicles 7:14, and Ezekiel 22:30.
So, how can we pray?
Some obvious topics spring to my mind: godly values in our schools; honesty and integrity among our civic and national leaders; sacredness of life rather than abortion; caring for the needy and oppressed; revival in our churches; and open hearts for the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout society.
A friend of ours recently sent us a note about advisors to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spending one minute a day at a prescribed hour during World War II to pray for the safety of Britain and its people and for peace. She suggested we all do the same.
My wife and I are heeding this call and making a regular practice of praying for our country.
Through Jeremiah the prophet, God asked the captive Jews to pray for the welfare of the state of Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
To many exiled Jews, it must have sounded incredible. "Pray for the evil people who enslaved us?"
But that's exactly what God wanted.
And Erwin Lutzer, author of The Church in Babylon, says that we should heed the same call in our own world where Christ and the church are either under attack or simply thrown aside.
Lutzer points out that Jeremiah's letter to the Jews in Babylon explicitly says that God "sent" them to Babylon for his own purposes. They were certainly being punished for their rejection of God - but God had plans for their good in the long term.
In the meantime, they were to settle down in Babylon, build homes, have families, work for the welfare and peace of the city - and pray for the Babylonians.
Lutzer says God is "sending" us into our society to work for the peace and prosperity of our cities and nations - and to pray for them.
I rejoice that many in North America are doing exactly that - praying for our cities and nations. I sense that this prayer movement is growing.
In my own city, a group of Christians has founded a lay organization called "Love Ottawa" which has for several years worked to serve the needs of the city in various ways - including through regular annual prayer weeks.
Canada's National House of Prayer is based on our city. It's purpose is to mobilize prayer for our government.
Lutzer, long-time senior pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, cites similar prayer efforts in his own city of Chicago.
But he pleads for more prayer.
"Despite our great needs here in America, few evangelical churches have a regularly scheduled prayer meeting," he writes. "When I asked a megachurch pastor if they had a regular prayer meeting and he replied, no, I asked a follow-up question: 'How bad would it have to get before you scheduled a regular prayer meeting?' He did not give me a clear answer."
Prayer matters to God. He works with us as we pray.
Several Bible passages make that clear, such as 2 Timothy l:1-2, 2 Chronicles 7:14, and Ezekiel 22:30.
So, how can we pray?
Some obvious topics spring to my mind: godly values in our schools; honesty and integrity among our civic and national leaders; sacredness of life rather than abortion; caring for the needy and oppressed; revival in our churches; and open hearts for the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout society.
A friend of ours recently sent us a note about advisors to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spending one minute a day at a prescribed hour during World War II to pray for the safety of Britain and its people and for peace. She suggested we all do the same.
My wife and I are heeding this call and making a regular practice of praying for our country.
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